Rockstar Newswire

We recently highlighted John Woo’s “The Killer” as a particularly inspirational gem from the world of Hong Kong action cinema – today, we present the yang to that yin, some of our favorite guilty pleasures from the realm of ‘Bruceploitation’.
In 1973 when the legendary Bruce Lee passed, an entire industry of martial arts filmmaking coalesced around the void left by his untimely death, attempting to capitalize on the style and substance of the great artist - invariably failing miserably but producing a very surreal genre of opportunistic cult films and helping to reinforce that there was truly only one Bruce.
Check out this selection of trailers from just a few of the unbelievable imposter films that confused and often infuriated a generation of Bruce fans.

Bruce Li and Larry Lee in "Bruce Li in New Guinea" (1978)

Note they even intentionally misspelled his name as "Lee" in the title screen towards the end. Awesome unexpected usage of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" in this.

Bruce Le in "Enter the Game of Death" (1978)

Gunning for the distinction of most shameless amidst a genre predicated on shamelessness - distributors of this one morphed the titles of two of (the real) Bruce Lee's most famous films "Enter the Dragon" and "Game of Death". Check out Le's replica Bruce Lee yellow-and-black tracksuit and the jacked-up-Michael-Winslow-looking villain he fights here.

Dragon Lee, Bruce Le, Bruce Thai and Bruce Lai (!) in "The Clones of Bruce Lee" (1981)

A self-aware holy grail of the genre, regarded as 'The Mount Rushmore of Bruceploitation Films.'
"These identical specimens of the late Bruce Lee are trained in all the martial arts through scientific technique."

Sammo Hung in "Enter the Fat Dragon" (1978)

Really. One of the few that at least attempts to present itself as parody.
 

We would like to congratulate The Small Faces on their forthcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, happening this April – and formally express our gratitude for lending us “Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake” recently as the score to the first GTAV Trailer.

A truly well-deserved recognition for one of the music world’s most underappreciated and influential bands.

Congratulations to all the other inductees for 2012 as well including Grand Theft Auto soundtrack veterans Axl Rose and Guns N’ Roses.
 

We recently got the chance during the holiday season to check out a pretty amazing installation at London's Tate Modern - a great example of the possibilities in bridging the gap between real and imagined spaces. 

Korean-born and now NYC-based sculptor and artist Do Ho Suh's exhibit is minimalistic at first glance but deceptively sophisticated: sculptures made of cloth, featuring a staircase ("Staircase-III"), floating in mid-air as seen above.

Suh's other work includes "Reflection" - part of the Gallery Hermes in Tokyo - a mirrored reflection of a grand gate, inspired by personal memories of the former entrance to his childhood home in Seoul; and "Karma" - a striking and massive sculpture of a giant in slacks and dress shoes stepping atop swarms of tiny people.

The Killer (1989; Dir. John Woo)



"He looks determined without being ruthless. Something heroic in his manner. There's a courage about him, doesn't look like a killer. Comes across so calm..."

So describes Hong Kong detective Li to a police sketch artist the mysterious lone assassin he finds himself fascinated with...

While Film Noir and particularly NYC-set detective films are often pointed to as being a key influence on the heritage of the Max Payne franchise, many forget that the touchstones that inspired the series are a bit more international than that – especially the canon of over-the-top Hong Kong shoot-em-ups as pioneered in the 1980s by directors like John Woo and Ringo Lam. Of those, “The Killer” is perhaps the best – with its stylized, over-the-top, slow-motion sequences of balletic gunplay; its melodramatic touches that underscore the action (white doves, mystic sounding vibraphones, candle-lit churches); and the role of the talented yet conscienced killer, played by Chow Yun-fat in one of his many collaborations with Mr. Woo before they both became Hollywood names.

“The Killer” tells the tale of professional assassin, Ah Jong – with no super powers, no sixth senses – but just an almost preternatural ability to sense, react and respond to impending danger in a split-second with razor sharp reflexes and deadly accuracy with a gun of any kind. Just as quick to dispatch a hit with cold-blooded precision as he is to risk his own life and limb to protect an innocent caught in a crossfire - the brooding and conflicted Ah Jong struggles with his own conscience and with issues of guilt and loyalty in his relationships with the detective who hunts him, the longtime friend and business associate who contracts him, and the sweet lounge singer he cares for. All that said, action film aficionados will probably delight most in those insane slo-mo bullet-riddled shootouts from start to finish.

NB – Rap fans will get an extra kick of out of this one, recognizing many scenes (from the English-dubbed version) as being sampled liberally on the 1995 classic album, Only Built for Cuban Linx... by Raekwon the Chef of the Wu-Tang Clan.
 

See you in 2012.

As a last little digital stocking stuffer before the new year, we present this brand new set of designs from the Rockstar Desktops Collection (also available in mobile formats, plus as avatars and buddy icons).

Inspired by the classic visual conventions and tropes of vintage B&W newspaper comic strips - with just a nod to the upcoming return of Max Payne, a franchise itself partly inspired by the grit of pulpy graphic novels.

Download any and all of the four new designs from the Comic Strip Series now available at www.rockstargames.com/downloads.







Previous Rockstar Desktops Series
Textile | Chronos | Light & Shadow | Light & Shadow Screensaver

Beginning today and continuing through January 13th, 2012, we're offering our Twitter followers the unique opportunity to be immortalized as one of eight Max Payne 3 multiplayer gang characters, just by using the #MaxPayne3 hashtag on Twitter.

Every week from now until January 13th, we'll be selecting ten people at random that we've spotted using the #MaxPayne3 hashtag. If you’re one of those chosen, we'll contact you either via tweet or direct message to request a picture of you for consideration. We'll then pick two people from each group each week (eight people in total) who will have their likeness appear as a multiplayer gang character in our upcoming action shooter Max Payne 3.

• Make sure you're following @RockstarGames on Twitter.
• Make sure you're using the hashtag #MaxPayne3 when you talk about the game.
• Keep an eye on your twitter replies and direct messages for us to contact you through January 13th, 2012. All fans that we contact will only have 48 hours to respond.

Visit the casting page for all of the details, and the official rules.

Previously:
Max Payne 3 Multiplayer Revealed in IGN's Exclusive Preview

The good folks at the Gourmet Gaming blog - where videogame-based culinary creations come to life with nicely detailed recipes provided - were recently inspired by the GTAV Trailer enough to whip up one of Grand Theft Auto's most cherished fast food treats: the Cluckin' Bell Fowl Burger.

Very nicely done - although we have to admit the real life version does look like a much more tasty and wholesome meal than what we imagine you'd get served up on a tray in a Cluckin' Big Meal - and it probably won't give you mammary gland swelling, erectile dysfunction, hair loss, heart disease, brain shrinkage, obesity, stomach ulcers, blindness or teenage acne.

Check out their recipe here: http://www.gourmetgaming.co.uk/post/12243540822/grand-theft-auto-iv-cluckin-bell-fowl-burger-to

And also have a look back while you're there at their equally impressive Burger Shot Bleeder recipe from earlier this year (enjoyed with an ice cold Piswasser): http://www.gourmetgaming.co.uk/post/6316656555/grand-theft-auto-iv-the-bleeder-recipe-like.